The Missing Link

Imagine a world where you only have a limited time to setup a presentation. Imagine a world where you don’t have to send your files through the network-of-tubes that is the internet – imagine that you could just “give” the files to others, even if you just met them on the street. Imagine a world where you can do these things when there is no TV, no WiFi or no power outlet. We're here to solve these problems

Meet airbridge

This is airbridge. It’s a plug-n-play device that allows cordless iOS mirroring. In English, that means that when you snap the airbridge handheld piece to your iPhone or iPad, and plug the base station into a TV or projector – your screen will show exactly what’s happening on your device. No app or setting configuration. No networks. No power needed. No wires keeping you tethered to a screen. That simple. And you don’t even have to be giving a presentation to use airbridge – imagine killing pigs, chopping fruit, racing F1 cars, or creating content in your favorite app – all in Full HD, lossless sound, no lagging and on-the-go.

What if there is no TV or projector, or somebody in your audience wants to view your presentation on their device without having to squint or crane their neck? There’s an app for that. airbridge devices can stream your presentation over WiFi (AirBridge Pro will even make one when there’s none) to other iOS devices, with or without a screen connected. App users can take a snapshot and write out some notes if they want to, and store those snapshots for later review; or even record the presentation to a video file. Pretty handy, huh?

Want to share a worksheet or data file to go along with your presentation? That app we just talked about also does that, without even needing the device. The app will detect who is close by, and you can just drag a file to the face of the person you want to give it to. Or if you want to give it to multiple people, just drag it to the “dropzone.” It's as easy as that. You don’t even have to be connected to the same network to share files.

Just the Facts

If we get funded, and barring a zombie apocalypse, we’ll be offering two editions of airbridge: airbridge Pro, and airbridge Lite for iOS devices. Both editions will be made for people who want things to simply work. airbridge Pro is the complete version of our innovation. It’s made for everyone, including professional users and serious presenters. Airbridge Lite has one feature less (it does not group broadcast) than the Pro and is made for everyday casual users. Check out this FAQ for a full breakdown between Pro & Lite - airbridge Pro vs airbridge Lite

The Dream & The Passion

Our dream: We want technology to play effortlessly well with other technology. We want it to act like a silent servant – reliable, durable, and making lives easier, and in a way that's not frustrating, unnecessarily difficult or complicated to use.

Our passion: We want to help our local economy by creating jobs in the US. Airbridge will be produced in the US, and put food on families’ tables. We want to be a pioneer in local economic growth by starting a movement that will help rejuvenate other nations by inspiring other innovators and entrepreneurs to step up and step out and make a like difference in their countries. If curious, see FAQ - How and where will airbridge be made?

We need you

In order to see our dream and passion come into
reality we need
you. Though we have prototypes built, we want to make the final
version sleeker looking and more compact. Additionally, in order to complete
the development and make the project production ready, we still need to finish
app development, work out fabrication, design circuit boards for the final
product, perform final testing, etc. Sounds like a mouth full, but all these
things can be done in a matter of 4 months or less. Yet, without financial
backing, none of these things can happen.

Like our dream and passion? Awesome. We love you. But we’d love you more if you helped our dream and passion become a reality by sharing this kickstarter campaign with your social network and funding our project. Considering getting an airbridge for yourself? Pick one up now before anybody else.

Pioneer Your World

The Pioneer Your World t-shirt and wristband rewards are more than just a fashion statement. It’s a call to all who want to impact the world around them. We want you to confidently and boldly pioneer your life in a direction that you never thought possible. Are you a designer? Use these to encourage yourself to pioneer new and inventive ideas that change the world around you. Are you a teacher? Use these to encourage yourself to lead your students into new ground. Are you a businessperson? Use these to … well, you get the idea. So snag a t-shirt or wristband and start affecting positive change – you pioneer, you.

Meet the Team

Artifex Touch is a team of passionate, visionary, and experienced developers, designers, and entrepreneurs whose dream is to change the world through innovation. We have a varied skill set and experienced group of people onboard, including 20+ years in I.T. and software development, 15+ years of design, branding, and marketing, 10+ years of business administration with multi-million dollar companies, etc. One of our team members is also currently the I.T. director of an Inc. 5000 business.

FAQ

Airbridge is for anybody has an iPad or iPhone. Here’s some common uses you might find for airbridge.

• Students, educators and professionals can use airbridge to give on-the-go presentations. Snap in your iOS device. Plug the base piece to a TV or projector. You’re golden Mr./Mrs. Presenter. Just smile and you’ll definitely get that A+ if you’re a student or that new account if you’re a salesman.

• Gamers can enjoy their iOS games on the big screen with full performance and quality

• People who can’t afford to keep up with the Joneses. Tired of seeing ads for all the new smart-TVs that you can’t afford? airbridge turns your old HDTV into a smart one, with a nifty touch-screen controller. Bet the Joneses don’t have that, do they?

• Coffee shop residents and restaurant conference roomers can use airbridge’s file sharing service so that hey, they don’t forget to send that report you need when they get back to the office (because they don’t have to wait to get back to the office).

• How about a big group video conferencing? Now you don’t need to invest thousands of dollars into a deluxe video conferencing system. All you need is a big screen on the wall, and an iPad on the conference room table. Oh, have I mentioned you can use any videoconference apps that you want?

• Digital Signage, you no longer need to hotwire your iPad physically with HDTV. You can store your iPad somewhere remote, configure things as you need, and showing content without compromising any quality

• Trade show, or anything else you can think of doing with an iOS device with a big screen or with other iOS device.

1 gesture file transfer.
• airbridge companion app is also a fully featured file manager
• Works with or without cloud services (MobileMe, Sugarsync, box, dropbox and skydrive)
• Authenticate your account with social media (Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin)
• Auto detects close by users on a network for “giving” files directly
• Bluetooth will be used when network is not available

If the goal is not met, we won't have the needed funding to manufacture Airbridge for you. Pledge today not only show support but help make Airbridge possible sooner.

If the pledge goal is not met, no one get charged at all. Besides, even if kickstarter failed, we will find other means to make airbridge to happen, and we still want to send out airbridge to backers at the price they supported us (about 30-40% off of retail) just to say "Thank You". Either way, YOU WIN :)

airbridge App specifications and features:
• Quick and easy file transfer between up to 10 iOS device users who are on the same wireless network.
• Automatically discover nearby devices that are on the same wireless network when sharing files.
• Give files out through Bluetooth when WiFi is absent.
• Fave users who you frequently give files for faster and simpler sharing.
• Store files on your iOS device, or connect to dropbox, box.com, and skydrive accounts over the cloud.
• Connect your airbridge to your Facebook or LinkedIn accounts for ease-of-access.
• Connect to airbridge Pro presentations with up to 9 other users.
• Record presentation video feed.
• Take screenshots of the presentation you’re watching and take notes.
• Easily downloaded through the Apple Store.
• If funding allows, we’ll want to up the 10 users limitation to at least 20 or 30.

There will be two versions of the App. The Free App (which is free) and the Full App (which will be $3.99; or free when you purchase either edition of airbridge device). Anyone wanting to view the "presenters screen" (i.e. the persons screen mirroring with the airbridge device connected) will need at least the Free Version.

The Free App will be able to view presentations and will be limited to sending files less than 10 MB. The Full App will offer sending files from MobileMe / Box.net / Dropbox / SugarSync / SkyDrive and will not have a cap on sharing files. You do NOT need the Full versions of the app to share your screen.

Here are the cordless mirroring differences between Airbridge and AppleTV.

---AppleTV---

1) Long initial setup time
- not counting time spending on physical setup and tear down
2) Not environmental or fool proof
- can only function in an ideal environment: well/loose setup WiFi, power outlet, TV/Projector
- even with ideal environment, user still have to be somewhat tech savvy to ensure a flawless setup and experience.
3) Downgraded quality during mirroring mode
- iPad/iPhone’s battery life will be drained significantly fast during AirPlay Mirror mode
- Both video and audio quality are downgraded significantly with any apps other than Apple’s native apps (Music and Movie)
- At least 1/10 of a second latency and significant frame rate drops for intense app and games.
- iPad/iPhone performance slowed down, especially with intense app and games.

All these results are not pleasant for business users, educators, students, gamers, or for anybody with serious use.

---Airbridge---

1) No set up time needed
- for normal cordless mirroring, 2 snaps are all needed.
- for group broadcast mirroring, members simply need to open airbridge app, press “presentation”, and select presenter to connect to for mirroring streaming
2) Environmental and fool proof
- super portable: completely battery powered
- for normal cordless mirroring, again, 2 snaps – no WiFi needed, no setup, reliable, always works; only thing you need is a TV/projector
- (AirBridge Pro) for group broadcast mirroring, can function with or without power, TV/projector, or WiFi (Airbridge Pro can create its own WiFi)
3) No Quality and Performance compromise
- No iPad/iPhone battery or CPU power consumed by airbridge: full performance of iPad/iPhone
- for normal cordless mirroring, quality in Full HD 1080p video, lossless audio, no lagging, no frame rate drop
- for group broadcast mirroring, video stream will be compressed to MP4 (720p video, 128 Kbits audio)

Airbridge is created as a well-rounded solution for both the road and home. It is designed to exceed Apple TV in ALL circumstances in cordless mirroring, especially in portability and performance.

Airbridge devices will be assembled and manufactured in the USA with the highest quality materials, with the lowest negative environmental impact possible. Period.

One of the major reasons why we went into business is to put food on American families’ tables. Not that we don’t trust people from other countries, but we live in and work in the USA and want to be a mechanism for positive economic change in our country. We believe this so much, we have committed that if we raise more than $10 million for this airbridge project, we will go to a city with one of the highest unemployment rates in the USA and try to help by setting up our manufacturing operations there and creating as many jobs as possible.

So when you support our kickstarter project, you’re also supporting a struggling nation.

If this kickstarter project is a success, we do plan on developing airbridge for other platforms besides iOS. First we will focus on Mac and Windows 8, and move on to other popular mobile device platforms (android, Windows Phone, etc.). One of the largest challenges we will face developing this technology, and why we chose not to support devices on other platforms with this launch, is that almost all non-iOS devices are distinctly different from one another. I.e. all iPads and iPhones have the same shape, form and connection ports, so we could create a product that would fit and work well with every iPad and iPhone. This is not the case for all Android smartphones, or all laptops, etc.

We want to see airbridge work with every major device and platform. We want to see future versions of the app that will include things like NFC ability for “giving" files, the ability to control what you display through airbridge devices instead of just mirroring (for more smooth transitions in presentations), the ability to preview more documents in native ways (within the app), and other improvements that will make airbridge a one-stop app.

Please get a wristband, a t-shirt or something!! Only with your support, we can make airbridge for droid, windows phone, tablet, and laptops (Win and Mac) ASAP. We really want to make airbridge a seamless cross-platform bridging solution! Please show us you want this too by backing us one way or another :)

Rewards

You selected

$1 reward

16 backers

Every little bit counts! We'll also send you an email with a digital download of the Airbridge logo and some other cool graphics our super awesome designers come up with. And, yes, a big thank you. You have made a difference for us, and for a lot of people!

Estimated delivery:Nov 2012

You selected

$10 reward

2 backers

You get a download of the Airbridge app when it becomes available to download on the iTunes app store. And an awesome wristband. Plus the rewards listed above. Please Include $10 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$25 reward

7 backers

You get an awesome t-shirt designed by our team. Plus the rewards listed above (the app, wristband, logo, and graphics). Please Include $15 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$50 reward

2 backers
Limited (498 left of 500)

You get BETA access to the Airbridge app so that you can give us feedback on our progress (yes, that means you get to have a voice on the app and become an exclusive member of the development community!). Plus the rewards listed above (the app, t-shirt, wristband, logo, and graphics). Please Include $15 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$99 reward

24 backers
Limited (226 left of 250)

Air Lite EARLY - You are the EARLY BIRD, so you get the “worm”: you get an Airbridge Lite! Plus the following rewards: the app, logo, and graphics. Please include $20 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$125 reward

2 backers
Limited (59998 left of 60000)

Air Lite - You get an Airbridge Lite. Plus the following rewards: the app, t-shirt, wristband, logo, and graphics. Please include $20 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$125 reward

300 backers
All gone!

Air Pro EARLY - You are the PRO EARLY BIRD, so you get the “big fat juicy worm”: you get an Airbridge Pro! Plus the following rewards: the app, logo, and graphics. Please include $20 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$125 reward

116 backers
Limited (4884 left of 5000)

2ND Air Pro EARLY - Same as Air Pro EARLY. Too many people asked for it, so we open extra 5000 slots. Now help us to spread the word :D !! Please include $20 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$165 reward

13 backers

Air Pro - You get an Airbridge Pro. Plus the following rewards: the app, t-shirt, wristband, logo, and graphics. Please include $20 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$225 reward

1 backer
Limited (2499 left of 2500)

Multi Air Lite - You get two Airbridge Lite devices. Plus the following rewards: the app, 1 t-shirt, 1 wristband, logo, and graphics. Please include $40 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$299 reward

12 backers
Limited (2488 left of 2500)

Multi Air Pro - You get two Airbridge Pro. Plus the following rewards: the app, 1 t-shirt, 1 wristband, logo, and graphics. Please include $40 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$500 reward

0 backers
Limited (50 left of 50)

You get invited to a one hour google hangout where you can chat with the 3 project leads and ask any question you want, also two Airbridge Pro devices. Plus the following rewards: the app, 2 t-shirts, 2 wristbands, logo, and graphics. Please include $40 for shipping outside the US.

$1,400 reward

Air Boss - Educator/Business special - get 10 Airbridge Pro devices for your organization. Plus the following rewards: the app, 2 t-shirts, 2 wristbands, logo, and graphics. $150 for shipping outside the US.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$5,000 reward

1 backer
Limited (49 left of 50)

You get invited to our exclusive launch party with a few other select backers, our entire development team, and industry leaders and journalists; and two Airbridge Pro devices. Plus the following rewards: the app, 2 t-shirts, 2 wristbands, logo, and graphics. Please include $40 for shipping outside the US. Airfare and other travel expenses not included.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$10,000 reward

0 backers

Partners - if you believe in airbridge and our vision, and want to be a part of what's happening in whatever way, you belong here. Let's talk.

Estimated delivery:Nov 2012

Funding period

Sep 5, 2012 - Oct 20, 2012
(45 days)

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